Big brands love using the holiday season as a time to make major acquisitions. Usually, they wait until a day or two after Christmas, when everyone's still climbing out of that Honey-Baked Ham hole.
However, this year, the big guns are coming out long before A Christmas Story will even appear on TNT.
To start the morning off right, VF announced their plans to acquire bankrupt denim label Rock & Republic for $57 million.

Big brands love using the holiday season as a time to make major acquisitions. Usually, they wait until a day or two after Christmas, when everyone's still climbing out of that Honey-Baked Ham hole.
However, this year, the big guns are coming out long before A Christmas Story will even appear on TNT.
To start the morning off right, VF announced their plans to acquire bankrupt denim label Rock & Republic for $57 million.

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Big brands love using the holiday season as a time to make major acquisitions. Usually, they wait until a day or two after Christmas, when everyone's still climbing out of that HoneyBaked Ham hole.

However, this year the big guns are coming out long before A Christmas Story will even appear on TNT.

To start the morning off right, VF announced their plans to acquire bankrupt denim label Rock & Republic for $57 million. Few were surprised with this move, as VF was rumored to be looking at the brand, which despite its early success, hasn't been able to pay off debts. R & R fits in well with the VF portfolio--the rock and roll brand will stand alongside labels like John Varvatos and 7 For All Mankind. Our prediction: Expect Rock & Republic stores, as well as expanded offerings, by Fall 2011.

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Then, as they often do, French conglomerate LVMH decided to stir the pot of mulling wine, announcing that they now own 20.21% of Hermes, up from the 17.1% they bought in October. Earlier this month, the angry Hermes family announced plans to set up a holding company that will control 50% of the company's stock. But here's the thing: over 73% of Hermes is already owned by the family, which means it will be nearly impossible for LVMH to stage a hostile takeover. We think LVMH is simply agitating the Hermes family until they break down and sell. That may eventually happen, but in our opinion not for a few years.

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The world's two most powerful luxury brands are getting a bit chummier.
My WWD idol, European editor Miles Socha, reports that LVMH has taken a 14.2% stake in Hermes International. The stake is worth about $2 billion.
Hermes is a public company, but the family behind the brand still owns a controlling stake. (Their share is 71%, to be exact.) LVMH will announce on Monday that they've invested in Hermes to "be a long-term shareholder of Hermès and to contribute to the preservation of the family and French attributes which are at the heart of the global success of this iconic brand."
Does this mean they're going to try and buy all of Hermes?

Execs at Hermes told French newspaper Le Figaro that they aren't happy about LVMH's sudden interest in the luxury group.
"The family has clearly and unanimously said: If you want to be friendly, Mister Arnault, you need to withdraw," said Bertrand Puech, a fifth-generation descendant of founder Thierry Hermes.
LVMH denies that they'd like to acquire the company, of which they bought over $2 billion in shares last month. But it's obvious that a hostile takeover isn't completely out of the question.

Today, France's stock-market regulator told the Hermes family that they could legally pool their holdings in order to fend off a takeover by LVMH. As we're sure you're aware, LVMH has bought 20.21% of Hermes' shares over the last few months. Although the Hermes family has kept over 70% of the company private, they still fear a hostile takeover by the luxury conglomerate, which views Hermes as what could be the final jewel in its crown. (If LVMH gets a hold of at least 33% of Hermes' shares, French law says that they must launch a bid for the rest of the shares, although there are exceptions to the rule.)
To create a separate holding company that controls over 50% of Hermes' shares--and that will be immune to LVMH's advances--the family brand needed to get permission from French regulators. The regulator has agreed to Hermes' conditions, but it's likely an association that defends minority shareholders--which in this case includes LVMH--will appeal the decision.
Despite this small victory, it's looking more and more likely that LVMH will someday control Hermes.

Forget about Hermes for a minute. LVMH just a bought a company whose family actually wanted to sell.
The French conglomerate has acquired a 51% stake in Bulgari SpA, whose founding family owned a majority of the firm's shares up until yesterday. That stake translates to about $3.4 billion. While this gives the family less control over what happens at the company, they have gained two seats on the LVMH board of directors. What's more, Bulgari's CEO, Francesco Trapani, will take over management of LVMH's entire jewelry and watch division in the second half of 2011.